Tag Archives: review

Book Title: The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave, #2)
Author: Rick Yancey
Number of pages: 320

Synopsis:

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:

– Honestly, this is like a giant novella—95% of the main storyline remains unchanged.
– Ringer’s perspective is the main plot driver and the layers to her character are explored and fleshed out better than other protagonists.
– Romance involving instalove/love triangles is introduced for dramatic flare. Really, that’s the only reason I can ascertain.
– The prose continues to be a strong asset to this story if fluffy, thought-provoking, metaphorical writing is what you enjoy. The action is fun and worthwhile to read into even though the bulk happens closer to the end.

Initial Thoughts

You ate the cake. It was of the ice cream variety. You devoured it quickly and it was delicious. But now you feel pain. A pain which cannot be easily remedied unless its origin is known and where the means of a cure can be applied. Food poisoning? Lactose intolerance? Perhaps your best guess will be enough (or maybe not). So you sit still and wait for the answer to come to you because it should come. Eventually.

Incoming: a whole lot of rambling because I don’t know what to make of this sequel that was superficially delicious in writing but after I om nom nom’d it all…there is this feeling that something is off about this read.

Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.

Book Title: The Rule of Three (Rule of Three Trilogy, #01)Author: Eric WaltersNumber of pages: 405

Synopsis:

One shocking afternoon, computers around the globe shut down in a viral catastrophe. At sixteen-year-old Adam Daley’s high school, the problem first seems to be a typical electrical outage, until students discover that cell phones are down, municipal utilities are failing, and a few computer-free cars like Adam’s are the only vehicles that function. Driving home, Adam encounters a storm tide of anger and fear as the region becomes paralyzed. Soon—as resources dwindle, crises mount, and chaos descends—he will see his suburban neighborhood band together for protection. And Adam will understand that having a police captain for a mother and a retired government spy living next door are not just the facts of his life but the keys to his survival,

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:

– Large portion of the plot involves scurrying to fulfill the lowest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (physiological and safety needs); a realistic read through of a survival guide, if anything.
– Surreal world building that makes you feel like your town could fit the bill of the location that the plot takes place (assuming you live in an almost suburban neighborhood).
– Protagonist is relatable and there is a budding romantic angle separate to the plot.
– Narrative is well-paced to span the initial havoc with decent lapses in time. It also balances downtime with several tense action scenes despite there also being moments of questionable urgency considering its environment.

Initial Thoughts

One afternoon, my friend who works at Mastermind (think Toy/Book store) told me that Eric Walters just walked into her store and just decided to sign some of his books. Then I remembered I TBR’d The Rule of Three earlier in the year and I was like, “dude, save me a copy of TRo3.” And she did. And now I am here writing this review.

What you see is what you get with this book. The tagline on the back of the hardcover states:

“A person can last 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. A community begins to die in just seconds.”

Boom. Are you interested? If so, don’t let me stop you from picking this read up. The rest of this is my gritty analysis. Still interested in what I think? Keep on reading then...even though I didn’t really have much time to think and just word vomited all over the document. Well, enjoy!

Disclaimer: There may be spoilers inherent to this review from this point onward.

Meet the fine men and women of the NightWatch: a supernatural agency dedicated to hunting down rogue nightmares that escape from other realms when people dream about them, while ensuring that other dream-folk are allowed to live among the regular, human population… as long as they play by the rules

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:

– Look beyond the cover design, if the synopsis interests you—consider the read
– Multi-layered storytelling focusing on crafting an atmospheric, dark urban-fantasy with fast-paced action sequences while underlining a comedic approach to nightmares
– Imaginative parallel world building that highlights the melding of each dimension in each other’s world; and also integrates juxtaposed personalities (day/night aspects) of the incubi
– Characters can still be rooted for but there is a lack of development masked by quirky and witty dialogue/bantering
– Reiteration and reaffirmation of thoughts may read and feel burdensome but they are not necessarily infodumps

Initial Thoughts

I will certainly be the first to admit that clowns are a no go if given the choice. From It to Bozo the Clown to Are You Afraid of The Dark….let’s just say that my childhood isn’t very fond of them–which is funny I guess because I’ve seen so many variants through television and Cirque shows etc. After reading the synopsis, I was like “okay, cool—sign me up” then the novel opens up with this dedication:

“This one’s for all the coulrophobics out there. Mr. Jinx hopes to visit each and every one of you real soon.”

Like…pls….my heart can’t take it. ….but I trod along.

Full disclosure:I received an advanced reader copy of Night Terrors through NetGalley for an honest review. I extend my thanks to Angry Robot for providing me the opportunity to review this book. By discretion of the author/publisher, quotes were removed from this review.

Disclaimer: There may be spoilers inherent to this review from this point onward.